


From sunflowers to red roses

by Maikides_Anonpie



Series: From sunflowers to red roses [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, First Meetings, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, OOC?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Then again they're not ninjas with everyday murder, Universe wants naruto to cause chaos, Wedding Fluff, it starts as wedding that opens world to us, my biggest problem is that i have no idea how to tag this, not naruto's family though, they're dysfunctional but they love him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24951706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maikides_Anonpie/pseuds/Maikides_Anonpie
Summary: When people meet their future spouses it's usually stuff like meeting them on high school or meeting on friend's party. Naruto though? He met Gaara when he as a kid sneaked into car's trunk, traveled to another city, punched Gaara's brother in the nose and then technically kidnapped him.Modern au that shows life surrounding Naruto. Wedding, how he met Gaara and people's lives around him.
Relationships: Gaara & Uzumaki Naruto, Gaara (Naruto) & Other(s), Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto, Hidan/Kakuzu (Naruto), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Uzumaki Naruto & Other(s)
Series: From sunflowers to red roses [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1836958
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Wedding reception is great place to share stories

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, this is my first fanfiction and I'm kind of nervous. English is not my first language so I'm sorry about grammatical errors.  
> I've read many fanfics in my life and while I love many Naruto modern aus, I never found one that really felt "right" to me. So this is my take on it. I just wanted to write bizarre/happy moments with undertones of sadness from past. So please enjoy

Chapter 1

Konan has never been fan of big weddings. For her, best weddings were small and you only celebrated it with your close friends and family. Why would you invite people you barely even know to your special occasion? Well, then came Naruto and  Gaara’s “awesome kick ass wedding”.

It was joyful event and people were having a good time. Day was turning into a night and only ones who had left where people with small children. Konan was pretty sure that party would last until the next morning. Naruto and  Gaara had invited so many unique personalities to their wedding that none one them seemed to go home before leaving some kind of impact. Yes, wedding has been success without big complains, but it had its bizarre moments. Naruto couldn’t even walk down on an aisle normally.

Which reminded her “  Kisame , can I have my camera back? Or are you still watching photos?” 

“Hm? Oh, of course. Here you go” her long-time friend said while offering her the camera. “By the way Konan, can you send me copy of kid’s aisle walk? It’s my favorite” 

“Sure, it’s my favorite too...and Nagato’s and  Hidan’s \- oh wait no, his favorite is drunk Rock Lee doing a mating dance for Karin who he mistook as Sakura” 

“So that’s why  Suigetsu picked a fight with him... are they still on time out?”

“I think Sakura had mercy on them, if they’re lucky they don’t remember the whole thing. Or see the pictures” Konan hummed while smiling at her favorite photo. 

Originally Naruto was going to be walked down on aisle by his uncle  Kurama and Nagato. But in the end, number of people went up from two to six. 

On his right side was  Kisame who also carried bashful Nagato and left side was  Kurama who tried to remove Kakashi Hatake’s hand from Naruto’s. Then there was Naruto’s godparents  Tsunade Senju and  Jiraya Gama- Sennin , who stayed behind him hands gently on his shoulders while also seemingly arguing about something. Photo captured the moment and emotions so perfectly that Konan actually saw it as an art piece. And it definitely was going to be framed.

“Of all the days Nagato’s wheelchair decided to break down, it had to be this  day..thanks for carrying him  Kisame .” 

“No problem, it was quite honor actually. Since I didn’t get the change to host fighting ring this was pretty good alternative” Konan rolled her eyes for  Kisame’s comment. When they were planning the wedding, Naruto and  Gaara wanted to show their friends and family how much they appreciated them by asking them perform something (of course you could refuse if you wanted to). 

Some of plans were good, like  Fuu singing with her band or  Deidara’s firework. But then there was stuff like fighting ring that almost was part of the wedding reception if Yamato  Tenzo hadn’t put end to it (he was hired to stop all the ideas that were getting out of hand. And probably wasn’t paid enough from it).

“You do realize how bad idea it was? I don’t think this place would had survived after you’ve punched each other to hospital condition.”  Kisame didn’t seem to mind Konan’s mild annoyance and cheerfully replied “Yeah but at least it would had made the wedding quite unique. Honestly, I was looking forward to it”

“And I was looking forward to re-enact one of my best stunts. Damn that  treefucker .  Deidara got to keep his firework and everything.” 

“Quit complaining about it  Hidan . ” Aah, there was that familiar squabble that Konan hadn’t heard for a while. She turned to look Hoku-San couple  Hidan and  Kakuzu , also her old friends from teenage years.

“ Seems like after 42 years you’ve finally matured  Hidan , you still have your shirt on” she commented while  Hidan just laughed “Nah I’m just waiting for the right moment”  Kakuzu rolled his eyes while taking a sip from his drink and  Kisame turned his  attention to  Hidan “Haven’t seen you for months, how was work?”

Hidan’s face twisted to annoyance “Ugh don’t get me started. First of all, instead of me being stunt performer like I was supposed to, I was forced to become coordinator, since original couldn’t make it. Director was asshole who was never satisfied and actors where spoiled brats who blamed anyone except themselves. And they almost paid me only half of what contract said!” he ranted. Konan nodded along the story trying to show her sympathy. She could never look behind the scenes same way again after hearing stories of  Hidan’s experiences. 

“Well...at least you made it on time. Have you been enjoying yourselves?” she asked  Kakuzu grunted before his husband could say anything “It’s been pleasant enough since we last saw you, but honestly... this party is way too big. How the hell brat is  gonna afford this? He and his groom just graduated from college and he doesn’t even have a job. And aren’t they little too young to marry?” 

“Dude, kid’s  gonna be 23 in the autumn, so it’s not like teenage wedding. And haven’t they dated like...six years?”  Kisame commented but then smirked “And isn’t it pretty hypocritical of you to judge others _ Mr. I got married when I was 19 _ ?” 

“Anyway,” Konan interrupted before any fight would start “You don’t have to worry about wedding expenses. They’ve planned this carefully over three years. And of course, we have given them all our support.”

Hidan just smirked at her and then turned towards his husband “Yeah  Kuzu , you really think that brat’s own mother isn't  gonna give her boy the dream wedding he wants?” Konan’s eyebrows twisted a little for quite familiar comment “And for the last time  Hidan , I’m not Naruto’s mother!”

“Dude, you don’t have to deny it. That brat gives you Mother's Day gift every year and honestly, you’ve taken care of him more than some mothers had their own kids” his face twisted into thoughtful and Konan could sense some bullshit coming up “Honestly, most of us are like some weird relatives to him. Me and Shark are his cool uncles, Nagato shares dad throne with Fox bastard, Dei is weird cousin, his parent's friends are soap opera family members and we can’t forget  Kakuzu ; his strict sarcastic estranged grandma” 

“I’m a what grandma now”

“I’m going to see how  Sasori is doing” Konan said while standing up. Honestly as much she enjoyed  Kisame and couple’s company, she wanted to see how some of her other friends were doing. And having a small tour around party area wasn’t so bad idea. She walked towards dance floor while also admiring surroundings. Newlyweds had chosen quite lovely place to held the wedding. Summer was showing its true beauty, flowers were blooming and weather was quite pleasant. And sound of people’s laughter and conversations suggested her that “adult side” of the party was starting. 

Familiar faces started to appear more often. Konan also recognized people that she hadn’t seen for a long time. Might Guy seemed to be determined to show people that he was still youthful despite  Tenten Tententen’s attempts to stop him from crashing his wheelchair into other guests. Haku  Momochi -Terumi was introducing his fiancee to his friends (she didn’t  recognize him although he looked like one of  Orochimaru’s proteges,  Kiriminaro ?  Kimizano ?) But still no  Sasori on sight.

* * *

Just as she was going to move to check other area, she heard tiny voice “Um, excuse me miss. Can you help me?” What Konan saw was tiny girl in cute summer dress. She knelt down and smiled gently at girl “What can I do to you?” 

Little girl showed her pretty hairclip “It felt down and I can’t get it back. And my hair got messy. Mommy and daddy are busy right now, so can you help me fix it?” older woman nodded with understanding “Of course, here...let’s have a seat” 

Konan then directed girl to the nearest empty table. After settling down she started to fix girl’s dark hair “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a comb, so your hair might not be as pretty as it was before” 

“It’s okay, I’m just happy that I can wear my favorite hairclip” girl said with happy smile in which Konan returned. Girl kind of reminded her of younger Naruto with her joyful personality. 

Both of them fell in to peaceful silence while Konan gently combed through girl's hair with her fingers. Suddenly girl broke the silence “I’m Mirai. What’s your name miss?” 

“Oh, my name is Konan. You have very pretty name Mirai”

“Thank you, your name is pretty too miss” Mirai said and after moment of silence continued “Can you play with me miss Konan?” Older woman looked her questioningly “Play? Shouldn’t you play with other children?” Girl looked her shoes shyly “Well, the ones I played with went home...and others are too old to play with me. And other adults are pretty scary... or talk really funny...”. 

Oh dear, adults definitely started wilder version of celebration. Konan weighted her options, should she go looking for Mirai’s parents or play with her? She considered first option, but looking at girl’s face made her heart give in. Surely  Sasori can wait and honestly, she kind of missed old days when Naruto and his friends were just kids. Now they’re all grown up and finding their own paths and don’t need anybody to check under the bed at night anymore.

“Okay, I can play with you. How about I teach you origami?” Mirai’s face brightened “Sure!”. After Konan finished fixing girl’s hair and hairclip, she took origami papers from her purse and started to show how paper crane was made (why did she had origami paper but no comb? Well, she had her priorities). Mirai was quick learner and soon they had quite impressive collection of cranes, hummingbirds, butterflies etc. Little girl also started talking about her everyday life: what she did with her friends, how she helped her mommy to bake, how cool one cartoon was and so on. 

Then she asked another question “How did Naruto meet  Gaara ?” Konan stopped making paper turtle and turned to look Mirai “Why do you want to know?” girl tilted her head “Well, daddy told me how funny it is that  Gaara is marrying his kidnapper. And Naruto is so nice! Only bad guys kidnap people! Is Naruto a bad guy?” 

Konan was quiet for a moment but then sighed “Honestly, I think we have to talk to your daddy about how you should present story without misunderstandings. It’s true that Naruto technically kidnapped  Gaara . BUT-!” she stated before Mirai would be anymore horrified “Was he the bad guy? No, absolutely not. Actually, I believe his actions saved  Gaara ” 

Mirai’s face then turned from scared to amazed “Really? How?” 

“Well back then Naruto was just little bit older than you. He didn’t really think of  the consequences of his actions , but did what he thought was right. And by doing so, grown- ups where alerted by  Gaara’s home life. Now the whole situation and how it started seems funny and bizarre, but back then it was not. He scared all of us half to death with his stunt.” 

Konan wasn’t meant to say that much. But memories were pouring in and by looking at Mirai’s face, she wasn’t satisfied either. “Can you tell me the whole story? What did Naruto do to scare you?”. 

Older woman smiled gently and settled down more comfortable “Okay I think we have time for one story. First of all, do you know Crescent Moon?” Mirai nodded eagerly “It’s country’s biggest amusement park in Moon city! Daddy promised to take me there some day!” 

“Yeah, even before you were born, every kid wanted to go there. Naruto was one of them. He begged us to take him so we made a deal. If he collected enough money to buy his own two-day ticket, we would take him. And he took it quite seriously. From fall to next summer he started saving his pocket money only using it to buy presents for his friends’ birthdays. And he also started to earn money by helping others and soon had enough to buy two-day ticket not only for himself, but for two other people as well. Sadly, all his friends had already plans for summer so nobody could come. But we started to prepare for trip. We arranged our schedule so that me and his uncle  Kurama would take him. Everything was perfect. Then life hit hard”

“What happened?”

“Well,  Kurama was on business trip and got delayed at last minute so we didn’t know when he was coming back. And my co-worker injured himself so I had to cover for him. It was hard to tell Naruto that we couldn’t take him to Crescent Moon. He worked so hard for it. But Naruto is quite stubborn and life seems to offer him changes to do crazy things. And that time it was the fact that my friends  Hidan and  Kakuzu were going on  Hidan’s work trip...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was first chapter. It opened with wedding from Konan's point of view. I'm sorry if she felt ooc (others too) but in this au Konan's canon behavior fits more on her wild teenage years/youth. Now she's over 40 and happy with her life.  
> So there's some info that might not never come forward in story/just hinted so I add them here: 
> 
> -Naruto's official guardian while growing up was Kurama. He's Kushina's older half brother. When he was on business trip Nagato and Konan took care of Naruto. Nagato is actually Kushina's cousin from mother's side.
> 
> -Naruto got so many aisle walkers 'cus while asking Kisame to carry Nagato (Naruto wanted his unofficial foster father to walk alongside him no matter what cost) others heard this and with hint of jealousy they included themselves on walk. Naruto actually loved it
> 
> -Gaara was walked down on aisle by his guardian Shukaku and sister Temari (Kankuro was best man and Yashamaru was watching from tablet since he couldn't make it to wedding)
> 
> -If you wonder, where the hell was Iruka don't worry, he was Naruto's best man
> 
> I also added easter eggs in characters surnames, cities, places in general and they all are based around stuff from Naruto franchise. Sorry that names are written in western style, it fit better on my writing style.
> 
> So, I hope you enjoyed the opening chapter.


	2. How they met part 1

Chapter 2

_Around 13 years ago_

It was peaceful early morning on Elemental City’s Konoha  district ( 1). Summer was in full bloom and districts famous leaf trees were showing their beauty. And honestly, Naruto felt that this morning was mocking him. Why would it be so beautiful when he felt so awful. He seriously wanted to cry again, but what’s the point of it. It’s not like crying would take him to Crescent Moon. He just wanted to go home and eat ramen and watch Princess Gale movies but he couldn’t do that either.

“Look Naru” Konan said gently while leading him to his godfather  Jiraya’s house “I know you’re upset; I’m upset too. I promise that we’ll make this up to you, next time you come to mine and Nagato’s place, we will eat only ramen and ice-cream. Sounds good right?” 

“A little...but why can’t I go home? Or stay with you guys? Why do have to go to  Pervy Sage’s place  dattebaiyo ?” 

She hummed his oddly cute verbal tic while tightening her grip on his hand gently “Remember that you uncle hadn’t come back yet. And me and Nagato love it when you stay with us. But our works demand us long days and while you are big boy already, it’s not safe for you to be alone too long. And  Jiraiya was happy that he gets to spent time with you. You like spending time with  him too right?” 

“I guess...”  _ ‘When he actually shows up’  _ he thought bitterly. 

Naruto loved his godfather and they had great moments together, but honestly if Konan and Nagato wanted him having a caretaker, they should had chosen Granny or big sister  Shizune . Blonde would had also suggested his babysitter  Kisame but that guy went to vacation few days ago. His godfather on other hand got easily distracted by job and... “research” so Naruto spent a lot of time alone when  Jiraiyia was supposed to look after him. He didn’t tell uncle  Kurama or others about this because he feared that little time he and his godfather have would be taken away. So, he rather has somewhat absent godfather than no godfather at all.

“Okay Naru, were here.  Jiraiya should be here by an hour. Do you want me to stay with you?” Konan asked while releasing her grip from Naruto’s hand but he just shook his head. “No need, you’re going to be late. I can handle myself.”

She looked him with sad expression and then pulled him to hug “Have a nice weekend. Be good to  Jiraya okay?”

“...I’ll try. And you too” he answers while pulling away from warm embrace. 

Naruto watched her leaving for a moment before going inside. House was pretty much same as it was before. Although dust hinted that  Jiraiya hadn’t really started cleaning it yet. Why did he even had such large house when he never stayed in it more than couple of days? Naruto walked further into house and put his phone and backpack on table. Then his gaze turned to quite familiar photos on the shelf. 

There were many photos of time before he was born.  Jiraiya with his old friends  Tsunade and  Orochimaru , big brother Kakashi with two other kids,  Jiraiya posing with Minato...Naruto’s father. Blonde then turned to look picture of his parents posing with Nagato and Konan. There was also third person that Naruto never got to know: Yahiko Pein, Konan’s husband. 

He had learned a lot about him through years but like his parents, Yahiko died on Konoha’s gas explosion alongside many others. That explosion caused chain reaction that created even more destruction which grown-ups still talk about. 

It also happened the day Naruto was born and sometimes he wondered was it his fault that they died. He once asked his uncle  Kurama about it and his guardian gave him strong lecture how he should never blame himself for things that aren’t his fault.

He then turned to look photos of himself. One was taken when he was 8 years old in action park with his godparents. Other was from time when he fell asleep alongside Nagato’s cats. And the last one was when he painted his house’s living room, without asking  Kurama’s permission. Oh, his guardian wasn’t happy back then even though  Jiraiya thought it was hilarious.

Which brought him back on his problem, what he should to do now?  Jiraya probably comes back at night so he has whole day for himself. All his friends are away from city, his favourite programs are on summer break and honestly, he has seen all the movies  Pervy Sage has. Or maybe that’s not true. 

He hasn’t seen his godfather’s...naughty movies although he isn’t really interested of them. From Granny’s warnings he understood that they only had naked people on those films. Why would you watch naked people when you could watch sword fighting and explosions? Then he got idea.

‘Konan and Nagato aren’t here...and neither  is uncle...I can finally ask  Hidan to lend me one of his movies! And I can say that  Pervy Sage asked me!’ Naruto felt new kind of excitement. He knew  Hidan has worked as stunt performer on many movies and they all sounded really cool. He even worked on two Princess Gale movies! 

But apparently coolest stuff that he has done were in movies that Naruto wasn’t allowed to see due age rating. But now there was no-one to watch him and  Hidan was easy to trick (at least he had heard). Sure, he might get in trouble later but is  gonna be worth it!

_ ‘Hm, maybe I should go nearest market first...I need snacks and might forgot them if I go straight to  _ _ Hidan’s _ _ house...I think it’s already open’  _ blonde thought while emptying his backpack. Then he checked his beloved toad shaped wallet. It still held all the money he had saved so it was quite round. Naruto put wallet back on his backpack, took quick bathroom break and left the house. 

But didn’t realize that he also left his phone behind.

* * *

_ ‘Maybe I bought too much...’  _ Naruto thought while carrying his backpack full of snacks and drinks. He got a little bit carried away while shopping and was now making his way towards Hoku-San's house. Fortunately, their house wasn’t that far away from market and Naruto could already see it. 

But then he was hit by cold realization when he approached place and heard familiar deep voice “Remind the cat sitter that  Zukkoku is on diet so he isn’t allowed to kitchen while others eat” which was replied by “Yeah  yeah I think she got it after reading your 20-page instructions”.

Oh crap. He forgot  Kakuzu . Naruto was pretty confident about tricking  Hidan , but tricking  Kakuzu ? Not happening. He had experiences from past when he had tried and they all ended badly for him. Now he could see  Kakuzu questioning his claim and possibly even calling Nagato or Konan if it was okay. No, Naruto couldn’t get awesome movie if he was there. 

_ ‘I should wait a little... maybe he leaves so I can talk to  _ _ Hidan _ _ alone’  _ he thought and stayed hidden behind fence bushes but also peeking to see what was happening. He was surprised to see couple loading the car. Where they also leaving somewhere? Naruto was filled with questions and many of them actually got answered when  Hidan started talking again.

“Hey  Kuzu , did you pack the sunscreen?” 

“Why do you need sunscreen?” 

“For beaches of course! Shark bastard said that Moon City has amazing beaches.” 

“Shouldn’t you concentrate on work?” 

“Well by looks of it my part of job last only few days and then-” he threw the suitcase he was holding into the car and instead wrapped his arms around  Kakuzu’s neck “-you’ll have me for ten whole days. Then those idiots in city council need their budget analyst back.” 

His husband snorted as response but didn’t pull out from embrace “You give those idiots too much credit, they probably need me already. It’s going to mess when I go back.” He laid his palm on  Hidan’s cheek rubbing slow circles “This was your idea so better make it up to me” which was returned with a grin “When I haven’t? I hope your back isn’t too bad shape though. I got few ideas...”

Naruto had heard only half of the conversation (thank god) because his mind was yet again overheating.  _ ‘Moon City, they’re going on Moon City, oh god, oh god, oh god, this could be it  _ _ dattebaiyo _ _. What times it is??’  _

Now Naruto wasn’t as stupid as some people thought he was. While he didn’t have best grades, teachers praised his quick-thinking  and empathy toward others. But he was also only 9 years old and didn’t always think things through or how ideas could be actually pretty stupid. 

This was one of those times. After confirming from his wristwatch (he had one since it was easier for him to check rather than from phone) that it was currently 08.05, he formed a plan. He would try to sneak in Hoku-San's car, travel to Moon City, go to Cresent Moon and then return back by train. If he counted right it would take 2.30 hours to go there and probably 2 hours to return since trains go faster. He’s been on Elemental City’s train station and knew that trains arrived from Moon City every hour. So, if counted right he got 5-7 hours to visit in Cresent Moon before he has to return. Naruto thought this plan was pretty great.

_ ‘They’re not going to take me knowingly... Best change is to sneak in trunk since it’s not too full...but how to get them leave it unguarded...’  _

And like someone on universe wanted this plan to succeed, there was huge crash from inside the house.  Kakuzu straightened up from his husband’s embrace with realization “I forgot to lock my study room...JASHIN!! That damned cat!” He ran into house like it was on fire with  Hidan instantly following while also yelling “Let me handle her! She just attacks you!” 

Naruto couldn’t believe his luck. Faster than lighting, he ran towards car and jumped into the trunk. Naruto was quite small for his age and people often mistook him younger than nine. Usually it annoyed him, but in situations like this small size was perfect. There was huge gym bag that covered him pretty well if he curled a little. Just when Naruto settled his backpack to be unnoticed couple returned from house.

“-and I will cut her to pieces and spread them all over Elemental City so she will ever get change to rise from death.” 

“And what are you going tell other cats ?” ( 2) He heard  Hidan respond with amused tone and then made bad imitation of his husband’s voice “ Jiongu , Marine, Gian,  Zukkoku ,  Atsugai ... Unfortunately, I have to confess to you that I’ve just demolished you mother from existence. You may seek revenge on me next Tuesday during lunch break” 

“Very funny  Hidan ”  Kakuzu said with sarcastic tone and Naruto knew he was in front of trunk. He held his breath while waiting him to close it and last thing he clearly heard was “Besides they like me more than her, so they would celebrate with me”. After that was  Hidan’s annoyed reply which was muffled.

_ ‘Please start the car please start the car _ ’ Naruto thought and to his joy, car let rumble and started moving. 

_ ‘Phase one complete...now just- wait...how to I sneak past them in Moon City?'  _

* * *

Car trip in back of the trunk was interesting experience. And Naruto wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. He has small bruises from times he bumped into something and it was quite noisy at times. Otherwise it’s been pretty great. But he really couldn’t calm down since there was 50 % change that his journey would end when couple opened their car’s trunk.

He could run, but knew that both men were quite athlete and would probably catch him immediately. And maybe even fulfilling one of those threats  Kakuzu has given him over the years.  So there he was, slowly eating one of his candy bars while waiting his possible doom.

After two hours and ten minutes car clearly started to slow down and drove more calmer which implied that they were probably already in inhabited area and Naruto felt his heart beating faster every second. Then it turned a little and stopped entirety.

‘ _ Oh god oh god’  _ he thought while also trying to calm his breath. 

Car doors where opened and soon enough so was trunk. By sound of it, newcomer was  Hidan “Hm...so this” there was sound when some of the luggage was crabbed “-and these”  _ ‘Oh  _ _ nononono _ _ ’  _ “That I’ll need” heart beats faster and faster that it hurts. 

And like universe had yet again heard his anguish,  Kakuzu’s voice was heard “ Hidan ! Come write your signature!” 

“Right now?”  Hidan responded while backing away from trunk. 

“Well faster we have signature, the faster we can settle down. Besides, you were the one who rented this apartment.” Naruto heard  Hidan huff and walk away from trunk “Yeah  yeah . I thought you might enjoy this more than hotel since your dream vacation is literally ‘I read my books and nobody bothers me’ but I guess I was wrong” 

“Idiot, I didn’t say I didn’t like it...” 

“ Aaw I know  Kuzu , just messing with you-.”

Naruto didn’t hear anything else since he was getting out of the car so fast as he could. Away from Hoku-Sans, away from change getting caught, he just ran. After a minute he was able to calm down and look behind. Nobody had followed him. 

_ ‘I actually did it...phase two complete.  _ _ Hahah _ _! Now where the hell I am  _ _ dattebaiyo _ _?’ _

* * *

_ “Hm?”  _

_ “What is it  _ _ Kakuzu _ _?”  _ _ Hidan _ _ asked his husband while handling one of papers back to  _ _ apartment's _ _ owner. “I think there was someone near our car...”  _

_ “What really? Is there anything missing?” he asked while  _ _ Kakuzu _ _ approached the car. “Doesn’t seem like it, but better check” he commented while moving trunk’s remaining luggage closer for inspection. Then something caught his eye “Well? Did you find anything” his husband asked impatiently “Only this candy  _ _ wrapper. _ _ ”  _

_ ‘Thought I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there when we packed...’ _

* * *

Naruto was sitting on bus quite happily while watching Moon City’s scenery. After wandering in city’s clearly more suburban area he asked some locals directions and they led him to the nearest bus stop.

Naruto had two options: either wait 12 minutes, go to the Southern Beach which is 10 minutes' walk away from Cresent Moon or wait 40 minutes a bus that goes right there. He chose beach option since a) he was already behind on schedule and b)  Hidan had said that beaches were amazing and he wanted to see them. 

Naruto had only seen Yu-town and ruins of  Uzushio Island outside of Elemental City (thought he hadn’t visited all parts of it either) so scenery in general really fascinated him. Moon City had more tropical climate and you could see it on buildings and flora. He had fondness towards different types of plants so he really wondered what all these exotic looking ones were.

_ ‘Maybe I should check from library later on...or internet- oh wait computer broke down and uncle hasn't bought new one.’  _

“Hey kid, here’s your stop” Naruto turned to look bus driver who had kindly promised him to tell where his stop was. “And better go stand next to the exit already, it looks like rush hour so you might not get out.” Blonde boy nodded understandingly and left his seat before flashing smile “Thank you mister!” 

“No problem kid, have fun at park” Bus driver answered before pulling to bus stop. Naruto stepped outside and started walking towards pedestrian street beside the beach. Southern Beach was quite beautiful with its pinkish sand and bright blue ocean. Sky was crystal clear with temperature being pleasant enough, just perfect summer weather. And most importantly, he could see Cresent Moon in a distance! 

_ ‘Those nice people said that I should follow the pedestrian street where signs point and I would arrive right to one of the park’s entrances’  _ Naruto thought but then his gaze turned back to beach. He knew that he should just go straight to the park and stop wasting time. But... he’s only seen beaches like this on stories so he wondered what its sand felt like.

_ ‘Maybe just a little while...I could still continue walk towards park’  _ he decided and went to explore. Naruto took his sandals off and tested what sand felt like. 

_ ’It’s so soft but warm’ _ he thought and started walking towards Crescent Moon. Sand sank little under his feet while he occasionally dodged people who didn’t really seem to pay attention where they were going.

_ ‘ _ _ Pervy _ _ Sage would love this place’  _ Naruto inferred while passed group of joyful women with quite revealing bikinis. Then he was struck by another flaw on this plan. What if  Jiraiya actually came home early and now was looking for him? 

_ ‘But then again, he probably would have called already. And  _ _ so _ _ would others. Hm... I will probably have to lie if they call me in the evening...’  _ Naruto’s mood soured a little for that. He hated lying to his family and only did so when needed, like for example in  Jiraya’s neglectful behavior case.

Usually blonde was quite honest and had bad habit of blurting stuff which made him look like an idiot. His former babysitter Iruka  Umino tried his best to teach him some manners outside of his family. And his mood soured again. While  Kisame was pretty great babysitter, he really missed Iruka who started college last year and Naruto only saw him on vacations. __

_ ‘Should I buy him souvenir too?’ _ he wondered but his thoughts were interrupted by sound of someone yelling.

“-and thanks to you, I lost my change to hang out with them!  Agh , why do you have to be such freak?!” Naruto turned to look where the voice came and saw two boys. One was older than him with dark spiky hair and his face was twisted into angry sneer. Other one was around his age with dark hair, dark circles under his eyes and weird red spot on his forehead. He also carried brown teddy bear and seemingly squeezed it harder while listening older boy’s insults towards him. Nobody around them seemed to pay attention but Naruto did. And he was about to had enough of this guy. He himself had been bullied in preschool before his uncle changed his schools. While he made a lot of friends, he still despised bullies. 

“-And you seriously still carry that bear? I don’t care what Temari says, you’re ten so you should start acting like it. Or father makes you” older boy said while also tried to take bear from him. 

Okay, that’s it.

* * *

“HEY! KNOCK IT OFF!!” Naruto yelled angrily and ran towards the pair. Both of them turned towards him, older one with confusion and younger with surprise. 

“Um, what do you want brat?” older boy asked “Leave him alone! You’re being big jerk!  So you better stop now or I’ll...!! I’ll...!!” 

Other boy snorted “Or what? Call your mommy? Trust me brat, you’ll be better off-” 

**WHAM!!!**

Naruto didn’t hesitate, he punched older boy so hard on nose as he could. He knew that his punches hurt,  Neji said so himself when Naruto punched him for bullying Hinata (oddly enough, they became good friends after that). Boy fell on ground and people around actually started to notice the commotion. Boy with teddy bear? Well, he looked Naruto with wide eyes and like he hadn’t never seen someone like him. Older boy also looked at him with clear shock while clutching his nose. 

“You want more? Bully him again and see what happens!” Naruto yelled while raising his fist. For a moment no-one said anything.

Then older boy got up and ran away while yelling “Father!”

“Oh crap” Naruto cursed and looked at the younger boy. “We  gotta get out of here, come on!” he said while grabbing the boy’s hand and dragging him away.

Surprisingly, after moment of hesitation boy ran alongside him without any trouble. Naruto heard commotion behind him but didn’t care. Need to get away from beach grew stronger. Then he saw path that led to pe destrian street. “Let’s go there!” He said to the other boy who just nodded and followed him faithfully.

They stopped running only after they felt sand’s softness turning to street’s hard surface. And it was pretty hot. “Ouch! Hot!” Naruto yelled and quickly out his sandals back on. Then he yet again turned to look at his  companion .

“Um...are you okay?” blonde asked and boy nodded slowly. They fell into awkward silence and Naruto wanted to break it so he continued “So, who was that guy anyway?” 

Boy didn’t answer and blonde continued “Um, can you talk? Do you...use hands for it? Sorry I don’t know how to do that-”

“He is my brother” boy suddenly spoke. It was timid and soft, kind of reminded him of Hinata. Wait...did he say brother?

“Oh no, did I mess up? Did I drag you away from your family? ...Maybe we should go back-” 

“No!” boy suddenly yelled before Naruto could finish the sentence. He seemed to realise what he did and continued with soft voice “I-I mean...C-could I stay with you? Please?” Huh. That was something that Naruto didn’t expect from person who just got separated from his family. This kid was little weird. Why else he would cover his skin from head to toe in such warm weather? But he also fascinated Naruto and he wanted to know more about him. Then idea struck him.

“Well I was going to Cresent Moon” he said while pointing the park “And it would be fun to have friend with me. So, you  wanna come?”

Boy’s eyes widened from his words. “F-friend? You want to be friends with me?” he asked with quiet voice.

“Sure, why not?” Naruto answered with bright smile “I  wanna know you better- oh I almost forgot” Naruto realized that he had forgotten really important part of making new friends “My name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, what’s yours?” 

“... Gaara . ”

And that’s how Naruto met  Gaara .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's second chapter. I don't know if it's too weird that everything turned out so well on Naru, but then again, karma probably's gonna hit him sooner or later.  
> So here's some points/info about this world:  
> 1\. Elemental City is country's largest city with violent history. Originally there was 5 big towns and smaller ones but they were combined around 80 years ago by government. There's still huge tension between towns', now known as districts and cooperation doesn't really seem to work.  
> 2\. Hoku-Sans' have six cats. Jashin is Hidan's beloved cat that only seems to listen to him (although she allows others to pet her occasionally). She's given birth to many litters (which is weird since other cats fear her, how she keep getting knocked up ?) and they usually keep black/white kittens from litters. Gian/Marine are females and rest are males. They are pretty much Kakuzu's cats and he secretly adores them (and he's big gundam model fan so they all are named after models). Second litter was adopted entirely by Nagato since he couldn't choose between six of them (they are surprisingly well behaved)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter


	3. How they met part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Gaara have fun, meet some new people and clean prizes from carnival games

Chapter 3

Gaara couldn’t blame his brother  Kankuro for being mad at him. He was finally getting a chance to hang around with  Suna Elementary school's “cool kids”, but  Gaara had to ruin it for him. They didn’t like his “weird looks”, how lame he was by carrying his bear and how he was being “creepy” by not answering fast enough while being talked to. Since  Kankuro had to look after his brother that day, they didn’t want to ruin their own fun by dragging “weird kid” with them. 

That didn’t mean that his words didn’t hurt  Gaara . Sure, his father insulted him often and so did neighbourhood's kids, but his siblings were usually nice to him. Especially after their uncle  Yashamaru got really sick and  Gaara had to move back in with them. His older sister Temari made sure that he got enough to eat and  Kankuro played with him whenever their father wasn’t home. 

So he stood there, allowing his brother to vent his frustrations, surrounded by people who didn’t pay attention to other problems than their own. Then it happened. Just when  Kankuro started trying to take his teddy bear away,  Gaara heard it.

“HEY! KNOCK IT OFF!!”

It came from a boy with a backpack who ran towards them with sandals in one hand, determined look on his eyes.  Gaara was taken aback by many things at that moment. First of them was the boy's appearance.

His blonde hair shined in sunlight.  Gaara had never seen hair like that in real life. In Suna district, people's hairs were usually either black or shades of brown. Sure, some people dyed their hair, his sister for example,but this boy’s hair was so much brighter than hers. It reminded  Gaara of things like sunshine and dandelions that grew in Yashamaru's backyard. 

And those eyes were so blue, blue like sky and held passion that he never thought eyes could show. 

Boy also had really thin lines that looked a lot like whisker marks on both cheeks. Where  th ey drew on or where they like his birthmark (he almost wanted to touch them now).

Second surprise was the reason why the boy ran towards them. He was defending  Gaara . He yelled  Kankuro to leave him alone and then punched him in the nose. Sure,  Gaara should probably be concerned that somebody punched his brother, but nobody outside of his sister and uncle never really stood up for him. People who knew him usually turned on blind eye if he was being treated badly, since he was “The Crazy and Freaky  Gaara ”. And strangers didn’t usually bother with other people’s business. 

But this boy did. And  Gaara was amazed.

When  Kankuro ran towards where their father was while yelling for him, he felt fear. His father would be so mad at him for causing the scene and when he was mad...  Gaara really didn’t like thinking about it, though his bruises ached from the idea.

“Oh crap” he heard the boy swear and then gaze was turned towards him “We  gotta get out of here, come on!” the blonde yelled and took  Gaara’s hand. 

Yet again he was thrown out of loop. This boy tried to take him away. Away from  Kankuro and his father. Away from the angry stare that promised punishment for later. Away from fear. Part of  Gaara knew that he shouldn’t follow the blonde. This was another city and he didn’t know the place at all. 

But this boy’s company was so inviting, so...warm? He started to run alongside him.

Boy’s name was Naruto Uzumaki and he was invited to Cresent Moon as a new friend.

Gaara wanted to cry.

* * *

“So, here it is!” Naruto declared when the park's entrance came into view. He felt  Gaara’s grip on his hand tighten which he squeezed back reassuringly. 

He and  Gaara had talked a lot while walking, well...he had mostly talked and  Gaara commented occasionally. He really reminded Naruto of Hinata with his quieter personality, but it was okay. He himself talked a lot so it was kind of balanced. But Naruto had learned few things about him: he is ten and his birthday is on January, his favourite colour was red, he liked cactuses and making sandcastles, his favourite food was salted tongue and gizzard (for Naruto they didn’t sound so appealing, but everybody had their tastes).

They went to the line and the blonde noticed that  Gaara seemed to grow more nervous whenever they moved towards ticket sales. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“...I’ve never been on amusement park before” 

“What really!?” Naruto exclaimed, but after seeing  Gaara’s face he continued “But this is great then! There are so many good rides here and you get to test them as your first experience!”

“...I guess, but what if I mess up?”  Gaara answered while adjusting his teddy bear “There’s so many people...what if I break the rules? What if...what if I destroy some machine and it hurts others?”

_‘How exactly would you destroy stuff?_ ’  Naruto thought but didn’t say anything.  Gaara was clearly nervous about going in. For a moment the blonde wondered what he should do, until he remembered the time Iruka took him to that  terrifying theme park’s Halloween event.

“Okay  Gaara here’s what we do.” Naruto said and the other boy listened “We will go in. Then, whenever you feel bad, you squeeze my arm as hard as you can and say ‘Ramen’”

“Ramen?”

“Yep, ramen since it’s good stuff, then we...we go make sandcastles until you feel better. Sounds good?”  Gaara nodded slowly as an answer. 

There, problem solved.

“Oh,how kind of you to look after your friend. So, what can I get for you two?” They turned to look at the ticket salesperson and realized that it was their turn.

Naruto offered her a bright smile, took his wallet and pulled a couple of bills. “Two tickets please!”

“All right. Would you like to have one day tickets or two-day tickets?”

“One day please!”

“All right, here’s your change. Is it your first time in the park?” 

When two of them nodded, she picked something from pile next to her “Cresent Moon is huge, so it’s best to have map always with you even though there is also a lot of signposts. And it’s easier to choose area. All the rides, carnival games, restaurants etc. are listed on here” After that she offered them folded map alongside wristbands and soon Naruto was excitingly dragging  Gaara along to see what they can do in park.

He did it. He’s actually in Cresent Moon.

* * *

Kurama Uzumaki let out a huge yawn while he drove back to the Elemental City. 

With work trips like these, he just wanted to say “Fuck this shit”, leave his work and become a hermit in some forest where he can curse humanity for the rest of his life. But  sadly he couldn’t do that... he had to take care of his nephew until boy was at least 18. Then he would send him to college and stop caring.

Except  Kurama probably couldn’t do that either. He’s grown attached to his little nephew who reminded him so much of his death half-sister.  Kushina was quite a firecracker and  Kurama sometimes found himself missing her. Their relationship had soured around the time she died and he kind of regretted that they never patched things up.

Actually, it was quite a common trend for him since he never reconciled with any of his Uzumaki relatives before it was too late.

Well, at least he would make sure that his nephew grew up to be a well-adjusted adult, hopefully.

Which reminded him  _ ‘I should probably call the kid that Cresent Moon is still a possibility, maybe I can get that pervert to come with us. I can put him in a strip club or something.’ _

When his boss delayed his leave at the last minute,  Kurama wanted to kill him so bad. He thought that he would have to stay in that hellhole for two more weeks, but  luckily he was just needed in a few meetings and he was ready to go. 

Sure, driving a car took its own time, but he should be able to pick Naruto from  Jiraiya in the evening. Then they would be able to go to Cresent Moon the next morning.

Kurama took his phone and picked Naruto’s number. He was surprised that the call went straight to the voicemail. Usually the kid answered in his phone right away, even in the classroom which annoyed his teachers quite a lot.

_ ‘Maybe his phone is on mute. Or he’s doing something “cool” with that pervert. I’ll try again later.’ _

And when the same thing happened three times after that,  Kurama started to feel nervous. Why didn't Naruto answer him?  Surely he would have checked his phone already? He tried to call  Jiraiya , but apparently the old man had changed his number and forgot to tell this to  Kurama . He called Konan and Nagato but it went straight to the voicemail.  Kurama checked the time. Six  p.m , still one hour and he would be back on Elemental City.

Maybe he was overreacting? Maybe nothing was wrong, Naruto was playing  Jiraiya’s backyard and everything was fine. But he needed to know for sure.

Suddenly his phone rang. Nagato was calling. He answered quickly as possible “Finally, I’ve tried to call you for three times”

_ “Five times actually. I had work. So, what’s the matter? You’re not usually this impatient.” _

“Do you have  Jiraya’s new number?”

_ “Um, yes...why?” _

“I need you to call him and ask why the hell Naruto isn’t answering his phone. All calls go straight to the voicemail”

_ “...I understand. I’ll contact you later” _

“Thank you, I’ll be there within an hour”  Kurama then ended the call. Now he just needed to calm down, drive to the city and scold Naruto for worrying him. And then they go home, eat ramen and sleep.

Soon after that Nagato called again. And  Kurama may have broken the speed limit alongside few  traffic laws .

* * *

“Wow  Gaara , that’s so cool!” Naruto exclaimed while he watched his new friend’s sandcastle.  Gaara just hummed and continued to make a tower.

They had quite a fun day together. While Naruto had been upset that he was too short for some rides, he got over it pretty quickly and enjoyed it with all his heart’s content. He really liked fast rides, rollercoasters and stuff like that. 

Gaara’s nervousness went away over the time they spent in the park and occasionally he was the one who dragged Naruto on some rides. He really liked things that went up because they made him feel like he was flying.

Only one time  Gaara used ramen command and they had found quite a nice resting place with a playground and nice sandbox.

But now they were taking a break. Naruto admired his large collection of souvenirs he had gotten during a day. It was surprisingly easy to find all of his friends something fun yet simple. Other stuff blonde got was from different kinds of carnival games park got. He’d given some money to  Gaara who also had a nice collection of prizes.

Suddenly Naruto’s stomach grumbled. They already ate all the snacks that Naruto brought, but now he was hungry again.  Gaara apparently heard this and stopped working on his masterpiece “Um...should we eat something?” he asked gently. 

“Great idea  Gaara , let’s see” Naruto looked inside of his wallet. There was still a nice amount of money to be spent. When he was wondering what they should eat, one food cart passed them.

“Churros!” Naruto yelled excitedly, crabbed his stuff and went after it  Gaara following right behind him. 

He had just offered his new friend another churro when he noticed something different “Wait...where’s your bear”.

Gaara’s face paled when he realized the arm that usually held the bear was now empty. He started to panic quickly “No... nononono ! He’s gone! I-I"

“It’s okay  Gaara , when did you last have him?”

But  Gaara didn’t listen. He was grabbing his hair in desperation and Naruto could see tears building up on his eyes. Blonde also felt panic rising. He didn’t know what he would do if his friend started crying.

“It's okay  Gaara, it’s okay, it’s okay. We find him and. ..and . ..even if we don’t, I can get you a new one! Those in shops looked awesome-!” 

“It’s not the same!” Now tears were streaming from  Gaara’s eyes. “Mother made it for me!”

Oh. Now blonde could see the problem. Stuff given someone dear to you is important. He could go to look for the bear but he didn’t want to leave  Gaara alone. Blonde really didn’t know what to do in situating like this.

Then, he heard a new voice.

“Um, excuse me...but is this your bear?” They turned around and saw a boy around their age with a light hair holding  Gaara’s teddy bear gently. His friend didn’t hesitate and went to scoop his beloved bear from a stranger. 

“Thank you!!” Naruto said happily while bowing a little and  Gaara mimicked action enthusiastically.

Boy flustered from their gratitude “I-It’s...it’s nothing I...I...”

“ Chojuro ! Where are you?”

Boy whose name was apparently  Chojuro, straightened up from the new sound and yelled “Big brother! I'm over here!”

They turned to see a new person with dark hair coming towards them. He was really pretty in Naruto’s eyes, even prettier than Sakura which was a pretty high compliment from him (and yes boys can be pretty too!).

But now the new boy’s face was twisted into disapproval when he stopped in front of  Chojuro kid “I told you not to run off. Or did you forget it already?”

Chojuro looked down on his shoes quite ashamed “I... I know. But-!”

“He was helping us!” Naruto interrupted while  Gaara was nodding his head as an agreement “He returned  Gaara’s bear to us”

Older boy looked at his little brother “Is it true?”

“Um, yeah...I saw them forgetting it at the resting place and you said it’s good to help other people so I...”

His big brother sighed “You should have told me before taking off. I was worried” Then his face turned into a small smile “But you also did a good deed. I’m proud of you  Chojuro. ”

Younger boy’s face lit up from his brother’s praises and Naruto added his own compliment “Yeah, it really helped us a lot! You’re a cool guy!” which made  Chojuro blush a little.

Older brother smiled, “Thank you for such kind words.” 

But then his smile turned into frown “Aren’t you two too young to be alone by yourselves?”

Naruto huffed in annoyance “I’m nine and  Gaara is ten! We can take care of ourselves! Aren’t YOU too young to be alone?” he pointed his finger accusingly to the pair.

Older boy raised his eyebrow (with hint of amusement) “Well I’m thirteen so I’m teenager. And we’re here with our kendo club so, not really alone.”

Blonde looked at their surroundings and then back to brothers” You look pretty alone to me” he stated matter of fact tone.

Older brother could see the blonde’s logic “I mean you have a point, sorry for confusing you, but right now we’re alone because we are allowed to go our own ways. We can take care of ourselves-” 

“But  so can we! And didn't you lost your brother?”

“...-Since I'm old enough to take some responsibilities. Chojuro has phone too so if I wasn't able to find him, I would have called. And we have our teacher’s phone number.” He held out his phone to show them while  Chojuro just nodded along.

Though it really didn’t seem to impress Naruto, “I don’t really get it, but anyway, so... if he’s  Chojuro , what’s your name?”

Brothers were baffled sudden topic change (which was pretty common for Naruto) but older brother still responded “I’m Haku...what’s your-”

“I’m Naruto Uzumaki  dattebayo !” Naruto blurted but before Haku could say anything he continued “Anyway, let’s go to the rollercoaster!”

“Go? You mean us too?”

“Yeah why not, you seem like a nice guy. Your brother is nice too. Right  Gaara ?” his friend just nodded “And since we can’t apparently take care of ourselves because our age, you should probably be with us. Right?”

Haku felt like rolling his eyes due to Naruto using his earlier statement against him. He turned to look at his little brother “Do you want to hang out with them  Chojuro ?”

His brother looked a little bit uncertain but then answered “I guess we can give it a try. I mean, it’s better than hanging out with  Suigetsu and others. Right? I mean, they did say thank you.”

Haku nodded as understanding and turned to look at pair  “Well , few rides shouldn’t be too bad-”

“Great! Let’s go!” Yet again, Naruto didn’t allow Haku to finish and started to hurry towards an area filled with rollercoasters  Gaara following right behind him.  Chojuro just shrugged his shoulders at Haku and started walking. Teenagers really hoped that things would go well, especially while dealing with over-energized  nine-year-old .

* * *

And much to their surprise, the brothers actually found themselves enjoying the pair's company.

It was nice to meet other kids than the ones that lived in Elemental City's Kiri district. They picked Chojuro a lot for being "a wimp" and Haku for being "gender confused kid who didn't know right bathroom" (he knew exactly what bathroom he wanted to use and was not confused, thank you very much.) Naruto and Gaara didn't neither of those things.

While yeah, Naruto was occasionally all over the place, doing things out of impulse, he was also bright and friendly. Blonde made them feel welcomed and was easy to talk to, like they had known him much longer. His friend  Gaara also was nice, where Naruto had friendly and wild presence, Gaara had calming effect.

For Haku he was a lot like  Chojuro : timid, shy and quiet, but also a kind person.

Gaara stayed dutifully on Naruto’s side and the blonde continued to make sure that his friend was comfortable. Haku thought that they must have been friends for a long time for such closeness. 

Much to his shock, according to Naruto, the pair had only met today on the beach. Haku didn’t know whether he should admire kids’ fast developing friendships or be worried how it can end as quickly as it started, especially if kids were from different cities.

To make sure that at least the latter didn’t happen , he suggested that they all shared addresses to exchange letters in the future (Gaara didn't own a cellphone).

Yet again, he was surprised by the fact that all of them lived in the same city, thought in different districts. Even Naruto didn’t know that  Gaara lived in  Suna while he himself lived in Konoha. Either the world was a surprisingly small place or Elemental city was too freaking big. Haku believed more in the latter.

It didn’t stop them from having fun though. Right now, they were in the carnival games area, throwing darts at dartboard. 

“You’re quite good at throwing darts Naruto” Haku complimented while also hitting bullseye much to stall keeper's charging.

“Thanks, you know, I always wanted to learn how to throw knives ‘ cus it always seems so cool in movies. This one guy  Hidan was actually  gonna teach me but we were caught by my uncle. He isn’t allowed to babysit me anymore”

“Heh, I have similar experiences... my father was going to teach me but mother asked if I could wait a little until she has time to do it. Father apparently sucks at it.” Haku laughed.

“What?! No way! You have the coolest parents ever!”

Gaara let out small frustrated noise when his throws missed more or less “Mine don’t hit targets”

“Mine neither”  Chojuro commented with a little bit of annoyance.

“You just need to practice” Haku commented and went to give them some tips while Naruto just continued to rob stall keepers from their prices.

Yeah, they were having a good time.

But all good will end in one point. A little bit later Haku turned to look at his phone and sighed sadly.

"I think this goodbye for now. We’re supposed to meet with other club members and teacher soon"

Blonde started to pout "Aww already? It's not even that late yet"

Haku chuckled a little "You know, it's nine pm. Park closes in an hour"

After hearing that Naruto's face twisted into shock "Nine...pm? Y-you're kidding right?!"

His companions watched him with concerned looks, "What's wrong?"  Chojuro asked.

"But...why no one...why??" Naruto spluttered in rising panic, clearly trying to gather his thoughts and looking at his wristwatch which just supported Haku’s statement.

Then he started to dig his backpack wildly, looking for something. Whatever it was, he couldn't seem to find it despite how desperately he emptied it.

Then, after admitting his defeat, Naruto turned to look them with plank expression "You know... I think I'm  gonna die"

* * *

What snapped Konan out of her never-ending document readings was knocking on her office's door. 

'Oh, it’s already this late’ she thought while watching the clock on the wall. Double shifts were a curse to her since she always lost track of time.

Konan stood up and walked towards door, knocks getting more and more restless “Yeah  yeah I’m coming"

It was  Shikaku Nara, one of Naruto's friends' father and her colleague. He had a grim expression and held the phone a little bit away from his ear "Yeah, she opened the door. Honey, I know you're nervous but yelling won't help. Now wait a moment"

He pulled the phone fully away from his ear and turned to look at Konan.

"My wife asked me to deliver a message to you from both Mr  Uzumakis , Nagato's is  _"Pick up your phone_ "  and mister  Kurama's message was just a list of different swear words. Would you like me to repeat them?"

"...phone?" Konan asked  confusingly and picked her work phone. Oh crap, she had forgotten to turn mute off after the meeting. Dozens of unread messages and missed calls flashed on screen. Quickly she picked Nagato's number 

_ "So, you finally decided to call," _ came her best friend's icy voice. It's been awhile since Konan heard him so tense.

“Sorry about that, work is a bitch you know? So, what’s- Is that  Tsunade’s yelling?”

There was quite a familiar voice cursing someone with every possible swear word that their language could offer. Sure,  Tsunade had quite an infamous temper, but this kind of verbal beatdown implicated something big happening. She heard Nagato sigh.

“ _Yeah that’s her. She’s yelling at_ _ Jiraya after  Kurama had to take a break.” _

“Why are they yelling at  Jiraiya ?”

_ “Turns out that Mr. Gama- Sennin _ _wasn’t as good a godfather as we thought he was”_ Nagato’s voice was full of anger and...fear? Something really bad had happened.

“...what are you implicating Nagato?”

“...Konan, Naruto is missing”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was tough chapter to make 'cus children are surprisingly hard to write. I don't want to make them too dumb like some media does but I don't want to make them some mini adults either. So sorry if dialogue and their actions feel clumsy.
> 
> Kurama's personality might feel ooc. I think raising Naruto affected him a lot and he tries to make sure that his nephew grows to be good, understanding person. Though he also encourage Naruto to punch people when they are being assholes (he may or may not have punched Hiyashi Hyuuga after Naru punched Neji) 
> 
> Oh and for your information, first meeting takes place around late 2000s'.
> 
> Also I don't know if sandboxes in amusement parks are common thing (in my country there actually is playgrounds in some of the amusement parks)
> 
> And also, I would love to just go and already make stuff where Naruto and Gaara just interact with people (some nice like meeting Fuu or some weird, like Kisame and Killer Bee fighting at dog park). But I have to make conclusion to this before that can happen.
> 
> Thank you for all kudos, I started this thinking if there's someone out there who can deal with my awful grammar, I'm happy. And it came true, so thank you (yet again)


End file.
